Poison
by EmeraldTulip
Summary: 'He shuddered as whatever liquid Dr. Gao injected him with coursed through his veins, and his fingers involuntarily twitched, right hand emitting sparks. "No…" it was barely a whisper, and all he could manage. He struggled against the poison, but he just… couldn't… hold on…' Speculation for Space Colony. Now a three-shot.
1. Poison

**Title:** _Poison_

 **Rating:** T

 **Genre:** Drama, family

 **Characters:** Leo, Davenport, Dr. Gao

 **Pairing(s):** None

 **Summary:** "He shuddered as whatever liquid Dr. Gao injected him with coursed through his veins, and his fingers involuntarily twitched, right hand emitting sparks. "No…" it was barely a whisper, and all he could manage. He struggled against the poison, but he just… couldn't… hold on…" Speculation for Space Colony. One-shot.

 **Warnings:** Unless you've seen the trailer for Space Colony, this will make little sense.

 **Notes:** So I was watching the Space Colony trailer on repeat, and I kept pausing it on the part where Dr. Gao injected Leo with that stuff, whatever it is. I decided that I want to just do a little think-forward type story thing, so this was the end product.

Here are the ideas I worked with: Dr. Gao worked for Davenport. Davenport got the light beam thing on his head (the thing that Krane used on the president), and Leo got injected with something Gao created. That's pretty much it.

I hope you enjoy, everyone!

* * *

He struggled against the handcuffs as he was lead down the hall flanked by guards, wishing he could use his super strength. Unfortunately, Dr. Gao or one of his goons had apparently foreseen that, and so said handcuffs were glowing, negating his abilities.

Nevertheless, he pulled at the restraints, furiously trying to free himself.

He knew that Adam, Bree, and Chase (and his mother, too) had gotten away, and he knew that they would save him—if they could. They could very well be captured or dead. That was very worrisome.

"Leo."

He payed no attention to the person talking to him.

"Leo."

He only struggled harder.

" _Leo_."

He finally stopped, turning to face the speaker. It was his stepfather, keeping pace beside him.

"Leo," Davenport repeated once more. "It's okay. Just… relax."

"What next, are you going to say that everything's going to be okay?" Leo snapped, turning to face him with anger pooling in his eyes.

"No," Davenport replied, very matter-of-fact. "Because I don't want to lie to you, I _don't_ lie to you." He faced forward again. "I hope that in the past few years, I haven't given you that impression."

Leo was about to open his mouth again—to protest and say that of _course_ his stepfather had never given him the impression that he would lie!—when the guards marching them down the hall abruptly stopped in front of a door.

"What's going to happen to us?" Leo asked one of them, voice quavering slightly despite him trying to carefully control it, knowing no one would answer.

One of their escorts swiped a keycard in the slot on the wall and the door hissed open. Leo and Davenport were shoved harshly into the room. Leo stumbled but caught himself, straightening and glaring defiantly at the man standing in the center of the room.

"Dr. Gao," Davenport growled, and in his face Leo could see the betrayal, hurt, and, most of all, hatred. "Why are you doing this?"

Gao just smiled gleefully, a sickeningly patronizing expression that made Leo _really_ want to punch him. Gao gestured at two chairs not too far away. "Please, sit down." He was terrifyingly polite.

"But—"

"That was _not_ a request," Gao said sharply, face suddenly hardening.

The two reluctantly sat down, hands still bound. Davenport closed his eyes and breathed deeply. "What do you want?"

Gao's mouth twisted into a vague half-smile. "When I signed on to this project, I never intended for your 'Davenportia' to actually become successful. My _main_ focus has always been the bionic humans I've heard so much about." This time, he looked right at Leo, who instinctively shrank back. "Here I was, thinking I would never get the chance to get close to any of you, and then, to my surprise and delight, I was informed that your entire family was coming for a vacation."

"Why do you need Adam, Bree, and Chase?" Leo demanded, leaning forward.

Gao chuckled, still looking right at him.. "Ever since bionic humans were revealed to the world, it has always been my goal to create my _own_ race of superhumans. _I_ am a better scientist than your father or Douglas Davenport. Why should _their_ bionic creations be superior?" He shook his head. "But I never said I exactly needed the precious bionic trio, did I?" His gaze flicked from Leo, to Davenport, and then back to Leo. "No. I can settle with you."

Leo's blood turned to ice. "What?"

"You're bionic, as they are—well, not exactly, but you will work well enough for my plans," Gao explained. "You have bionic components, that's all I need. I need to start my new generation of superhumans _somewhere_ , don't you agree?"

Leo shook his head rather frantically. "No, not really."

Dr. Gao walked over to a table and picked up something—a needle. A really, _really_ dangerous looking needle. Filled with a poison—well, probably not actually, but it definitely wasn't a good thing. Whatever it was, he did _not_ want it going into his body. "Let me make this clear: I'm making _you_ my first test subject."

"You can't do this to my son!" Davenport cried, lurching forward as best he could, handcuffed and in a chair.

Gao sighed, lowering the needle. "You're right, I can't." Neither Leo or Davenport fell for it. "Without putting you, _Mr. Davenport_ , under the Triton app first!"

"I'm not bionic, you idiot," Davenport snarled. "You can't control me with a stupid app."

Gao hummed in disagreement. "Unless I have this." He held up another device from the table.

Davenport still looked confused, but Leo's eyes widened when he saw what it was. "Big D! That's the thing Krane used to control the President!"

Davenport immediately understood. "Oh, no. No, no, no. Not happening, _never_ happening."

Gao just gave a nod, and immediately, his henchmen's hands were clamped down hard on each of the prisoners' shoulders.

"Hey!" Leo shouted. "You can't—" A hand clasped over his mouth, and he had to stop talking.

Dr. Gao approached. "Goodbye, Donald Davenport." He held up the Triton device and pushed the button.

The emerald light spilled over the billionaire inventor's head, and his eyes suddenly became fixed looking straight ahead. Pixellated green spread over his irises, and his expression turned vacant.

"No!" Leo managed to get that one word out, even as strangled and warped as it sounded. His father was gone, controlled by the Triton app. Adam, Bree, and Chase weren't coming. That realization hit him hard. He was alone.

"So, Leo Dooley, any last words?" Gao asked, holding up the needle. The hand lifted off of Leo's mouth, allowing him to talk.

"I hate you."

The hand went back over his mouth, and Gao smirked. "I figured." Then, he brought the needle down on Leo's right arm.

Obviously, Gao didn't even try to be gentle. Pain ripped through Leo, spreading throughout his entire body.

He shuddered as whatever liquid Dr. Gao injected him with coursed through his veins, and his fingers involuntarily twitched, right hand emitting sparks.

"No…" it was barely a whisper, and all he could manage. He struggled against the poison, but he just… couldn't… hold on…

 _You have too!_ he shouted at himself. _For Adam, Bree, Chase, Mom. For Big D, if you can get him out of the app. For everyone._

He shook his head, trying to clear the fuzziness spreading through him. Concentrating. "I…"

"He's stronger than I thought," he heard Gao murmur. Somehow, somewhat ironically, that gave him even more strength.

 _"_ _You can't make me do anything. You can't start your new generation with me,"_ he said, straightening in his chair.

No one reacted, making Leo doubt he'd even said anything at all. He glanced to his left, and immediately regretted it.

His stepfather was looking right at him, mechanical green eyes blazing. Leo's concentration slipped, and his mind became foggy again.

 _"_ _I…"_

Suddenly, he felt his head snap forward, his face slacken. His eyes prickled, and he had a feeling they were beginning to glow.

He heard Gao say one more thing: "My first new superhuman is ready. I have a new goal for him."

 _I'm sorry, guys. I tried. The poison was too strong. I'm so sorry. I'm gone. Please—if you have to fight me, don't hold back. Just take Gao out, even if that means killing me, too._

The despair washed over him, and then everything faded.

* * *

 **And that's probably all I'm going to do for this story, unless a lot of people** ** _really_** **want another part to it.**

 **So, I'd love to hear feedback on this, please leave a review!**


	2. Placebo

**Well, a bunch of you wanted a continuation, so here it is! This is now a three-shot, so 2/3 chapters are completed. Anyway, some replies and then we'll get right to it!**

 **Susz: Thank you! I hope you like this chapter, too!**

 **PurpleNicole531: Thanks! And I think we all think the episode is going to be awesome, right? It would be so disappointing if it wasn't.**

 **ereader12: I'm glad you thought his last words fit! I'm very glad you liked the first chapter!**

 **musicnotes093: Again, thank you for such a wonderful(ly long) review! I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

 **BigTimeRusher12: I've always loved their family bond, to be honest. So I figured, why not work it in?**

 **catfloppy24: Thanks! It's obviously not a one-shot anymore, but… I hope you like it!**

 **Guest: Jeez, I know it's you, Sapph. You could've just told me to my face XD But thanks for the enthusiasm! I did indeed write!**

 **Iron Rose Writer: It's probably totally AU by now, but hey! I write it how I want it :) I hope you like the continuation!**

* * *

Bree knew something was wrong when Leo and Mr. Davenport didn't return from patching up the hole in the Davenportia Dome, but was forced to keep her worries to herself. She and her brothers had more pressing matters on their hands.

"The scans pick up the giant missile heading towards Earth," Chase reported, looking down at the console. "But I can't figure out where it came from! It looks like it came from here, but… that can't be right, can it?"

Bree suddenly noticed a flashing light on on of the panels. "Guys," she said, pointing, "what's that?"

Chase glanced over and immediately started typing frantically, but Adam didn't seem to get it.

"Bree, it's a flashing light."

She groaned and was about to wave it off, but Chase looked up. "Adam. I wasn't kidding about what I said before we left. Grow up." He didn't wait for anyone or reply, just pushed a few more buttons. He seemed to read something, and then his eyes widened. "Oh, no!" He turned and faced the other two. "I… did a scan. The missile _did_ come from here."

Bree shook her head. "But who would do that?"

"I would."

The bionic trio turned to face the speaker, standing in the doorway.

"Dr. Gao!" Adam yelped.

Chase shook his head. "Why would you do this?"

Gao chuckled. "Your stepbrother asked the same thing. My new superhuman race is far superior. Speaking of my creations… I believe you've met my first new superhuman follower."

Another pair of footsteps was heard behind the door, and then suddenly, Leo was standing next to Gao, arms crossed and an odd expression on his face. "Hey, guys." He spoke clearly and evenly, but his tone was so frigid, so woven with ice that he clearly wasn't the same Leo that they loved, he wasn't the same Leo who was their brother. He managed to make his disdain and hate for them known with just those two words.

"Leo?" Chase regained his voice first. "What are you doing?"

Adam suddenly shook his head. "That's not Leo, Chase. Look at his eyes."

Bree peered closer and saw that her brother was right. Leo's eyes were glowing a sort of greenish color, almost like the—

"Triton app," she murmured.

Gao laughed. "Oh no, Miss Davenport. That is not the Triton app. _This_ is the Triton app."

Yet another pair of footsteps, yet another familiar face. This time, it was Mr. Davenport, looking similar to Leo, but… different. His arms were at his sides and his expression vacant, but still… it was unnerving.

"You put our father under the Triton app?" Chase cried.

Dr. Gao just smiled in response. Then he turned to his new followers, pointing at Mr. Davenport. "You, go round up the rest of the staff here and send them to my lab. I need them for… testing." He pointed at Leo. "You stay with me."

"You're a monster," Bree growled as Mr. Davenport silently exited the room and Leo continued to look at them coldly. "And an idiot, apparently. How would you ever be able to maintain control over so many brainless, useless, mind-controlled people?"

Gao's smug look never left his face. "Like this." He flung out a hand, and orange energy burst from his palm, smashing into the wall and leaving a scorch mark.

The three siblings simultaneously whipped around to see the damage and then turned back. Gao was still smiling, and Leo looked completely unfazed.

"it's called power, children," Gao said patronizingly. "I know you have it, maybe you should learn to use it. Not that it'll matter, seeing as the human race will be extinct shortly. That missile you scanned? It's due to hit in a matter of hours. Approximately two, actually. You can't stop it."

"Who _are_ you?" Chase demanded, eyes wide with shock.

Gao chuckled. "I'm pretty sure that's the greatest mystery, isn't it?"

"I don't like mysteries," Adam said, somewhat randomly.

"Well, _this_ ability isn't a mystery much, is it?" Gao asked ominously before reaching out once more. Another beam of pure orange power leapt from his fingers, and Bree, for once, was too slow. She only watched helplessly as the glowing orange ball hit Chase point blank, in the direct center of his chest.

Everything seemed to slow down for a second, and she could see Chase's face, contorted in fear and panic. She could see Adam reaching out uselessly, trying to help him. She could see Gao's face twisted into a gruesome smile as the orange glow dissipated from his hands. And she could see Leo, his eyes glowing an odd yellow-green, glee written clearly across his face.

His eyes locked with hers. Everything sped back up.

Orange electricity arced up her brother's body, and he let out a pained shriek. She broke eye contact with Leo—which was probably for the best; he was scaring her with the eyes and hurting her with his uncaring expression—and saw as Chase's legs collapsed from under him, and he fell backward.

"Chase!" she screamed, falling to her knees beside him, afraid to touch him. Chase's eyes were filled with extreme pain as he looked up at her. His lips moved, but no noise escaped but a faint hiss, a breath.

 _Fall unconscious, fall unconscious…_ the agony in his face made her repeat the two words in her head like a mantra. She didn't want her brother feeling all of that pain. Thankfully, at that precise moment, his eyes rolled up into his head and he did indeed pass out.

"You're going to pay for that!" Adam shouted, rushing forward.

Suddenly, Leo was there, a hand raised, and Adam froze mid-step. Leo turned just his head, turning back to Dr. Gao. "Should I…?"

Gao nodded at Leo. "Of course. I must go oversee the proceedings, but you know what to do."

A creepy little smile spread over Leo's face. "I must say, I've been excited for this ever since you explained the plan."

"Then… show no mercy." Dr. Gao turned on his heel and walked out of the room.

"I won't," Leo replied, even though Gao had left. He clenched his hand into a fist and made a pushing motion back in Bree's direction. Adam unfroze and went tumbling backward, almost landing on Bree.

"Leo!" she yelled. "Stop!"

"Why should I?" came the cold and indifferent answer.

"Because you're hurting us, and—" she was cut off by Leo, who shot a rapid succession of laser spheres at her, and she had to leap out of the way, dragging Chase with her.

"See if I care."

"You have to get us out of here!" Adam yelled.

"Where are we going to go?" she yelled back as another laser flew over their heads.

"Why would I know? Chase would know!" Adam cried.

Suddenly, an image flashed into Bree's mind. When they had taken a tour earlier, they'd been shown the weapons room. They definitely needed weapons at this point, and hopefully Leo wouldn't look for them there.

"Grab on!" she yelled, grabbing Chase's wrist and holding an arm out to Adam. Her older brother got the message and latched on, helping her lift Chase. She shot away, barely managing to dodge another laser sphere.

Speeding down the hall, she used her memory to find the weapons room. Seeing as she was pretty good at remembering stuff, they arrived pretty quick. As she took Chase and set him gently on the floor inside, Adam set to work locking the door.

"Think this'll hold him?" Adam asked her, showing her the door, completely bolted and shut.

"I hope so," Bree murmured, sliding down the wall and sitting beside Chase's still form.

Adam seemed to sense her inner turmoil and sat down next to her. "What's wrong?"

"I don't want to fight him," she replied softly.

Adam seemed to understand immediately—which was odd, because it was Adam, but Bree wasn't complaining. "I know," he said. "I don't want to, either."

Bree shook her head. "But then how are we going to stop Dr. Gao? Leo's just going to try to stop us at every turn."

She got no reply from him for a full minute, but then he drew in a breath and began speaking, slowly. "Bree… I think that Leo, if he could tell us one thing right now… he would tell us that we can't stop now. We can't give up. Even though he's under some sort of mind control, and we don't want to hurt him, we have to fight back. He wouldn't want us to sacrifice the entire human race just for him. That would only be hurting him further. He would want us to defeat him, and then move on to Gao."

She felt tears beginning to sting her eyes, and tried hard not to let them spill out onto her cheeks. Adam glanced at her, and he was obviously shocked to see her dark eyes brimming with salty sadness. She knew that he had always considered her the strong one, even if he was the one with super strength. It must have been hard for him to see.

Nevertheless, he continued. "We've worked so hard and done so much to get here, Bree. We can't give up. _You_ can't give up. Leo wouldn't let you, and neither will I."

They sat in silence for a moment longer until Bree let out a watery laugh. "When did you get so smart and philosophical?"

Bree saw Adam's lips twitch up slightly, but it was a sad smile. "When I started growing up."

"Oh, Adam," Bree sighed. "I know what Chase said. But please. You're my irresponsible goofball brother. You don't need to change." _Please don't._

Adam just shook his head. "No. Chase had a point. At some point, I need to grow up. I can't be like this forever, you know." He chuckled dryly.

Bree was about to respond when there suddenly came a knock on the door. Both Adam and Bree jumped about a foot in the air.

"Let me in let me in let me in!"

It was a voice that used to instill terror in everyone in Mission Creek High—Perry. Now, Bree only felt relieved knowing it wasn't one of Dr. Gao's henchmen—or her brother.

She quickly stood and opened the door, letting the former principal in. "What happened?"

"Well, I was just walking down the hall, looking for something to stea— _borrow_ , and then Dooley walked up to me and attacked me!" she exclaimed. "I ran here because I wanted to stea— _borrow_ a weapon, but I found you instead."

"Honestly, I forgot you even came here with us," Adam admitted.

"To be fair, she stowed away on our ship and stol— _borrowed_ a Davenportia space suit," Bree reminded him, giving the stowaway ex-principal a glare.

Perry shrugged. "I was hoping Douggles was coming with you."

"Douglas," Bree corrected her. "Don't ever say 'Douggles' again. It's disturbing."

Perry ignored her. "What's wrong with robot person number three?" she asked, pointing at Chase, who was still lying on the floor, orange sparks occasionally crackling and popping around his body.

"Dr. Gao—remember him?—blasted him. Somehow, he has bionics," Bree explained. "And he used the Triton app—"

"Huh?"

"—mind control thingy on Leo, which is why he tried to attack you," Bree finished.

Adam frowned. "We sure he's evil? Because that actually sounds like a good thing to—mmph!"

Bree had slapped a hand over his mouth so he couldn't finish the sentence. "We're trapped in the same room with her," she hissed. "Do _not_ make her mad!"

"Sorry," Adam mumbled, and Bree was surprised to see that he really did look sorry. _He… he really_ is _growing up._ She wasn't quite sure how she felt about that.

"Anyway, the point is that Dr. Gao attacked Chase. I thought he'd be up right now…" Bree trailed off as Chase's face suddenly contorted and his nose twitched. "Hey, I think he's waking up!"

"Ohhh…" Chase moaned. His eyes slowly flickered open, still pained, but less so than they had been before. Bree was grateful for that, at least. "What happened?" Chase mumbled, hazel eyes cloudy.

Bree helped him sit up. "Gao blasted you with some sort of orange energy."

"Oh." Any other day, Bree would've laughed at the truly priceless expression on Chase's face, but not right then. She could't bring herself to even feel not-miserable.

"And Leo…" Chase trailed off, looking between Adam and Bree.

"He's under Gao's control," Adam confirmed.

Chase seemed to deflate. "I was hoping I dreamed that."

"Hey!" a voice suddenly yelled from right outside the door. "Open up, or I will make you!" Whoever was talking rapped sharply on the door twice, sending two echoes bouncing around the room.

"Who is it?" Adam called. Noticing the looks from his siblings and Perry, he shrugged. "What? It doesn't hurt to be polite." _Oh, good old Adam._

"Uh, it's Leo," Leo said, ceasing his knocking.

Adam grinned. "Hey, it's Leo! Let's let him in, it would be rude not to!" _There's the old Adam._

"No!" Chase cried, managing to scramble to his feet. "He's being mind controlled, remember?"

"Oh. Right."

"Open this door _right now_!"

Bree shook her head. "Not happening!"

She could practically _hear_ the smirk in his voice, the pure smugness. "Have it your way, then."

The door exploded.

* * *

 **And cue the cliffhanger music! (I don't really know if that's a thing, but...)**

 **I'll try to get this updated fast—probably by tomorrow?**

 **Anyway, review! I love reviews! Thanks for reading, everyone!**


	3. Antidote

**Hey, everyone! Sorry for the wait, this chapter ended up being a lot longer than expected (twice as long as I'd planned, actually!). It's well over 3, 500 words long! That's the longest chapter I've ever written, I'm pretty sure. I'm pretty proud of this, too, I hope you all like it.**

 **Astri . Angels: I'm glad you liked the continuation! I hope you like this final chapter!**

 **PurpleNicole531: I was literally grinning like an idiot when I read your review! Thank you so much! I don't know why, but cliffhangers just seem to happen with me. And I'm so glad it gave you that vibe of where it works like the TV show would, that's what I was going for!**

 **Bye Felicia: Yeah, cliffhanger. I get it, I'd hate me too ;)**

 **musicnotes093: Yup, I'm pretty sure I didn't write the episode XD But thanks! And I'm not sure if I've mentioned this, but you leave the best reviews, I love all the feedback! So again, I'm so glad you liked it, and I hope you enjoy this last chapter, too! (There's plenty of angsty Leo, so…)**

 **Susz: I made sure not to forget anything from the trailers, so of** ** _course_** **I would add that bit with Chase in! I'm glad you liked it, and I hope you enjoy this last chapter!**

 **I hope you all enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

Bree was thrown back, was lifted off her feet and hurled into a wall. As she lay there on the floor, stunned, she was aware of her brothers being sent into different walls, Perry being tossed behind a desk in the corner. The most shocking thing at all, however, was the powerful white light circling Leo's hands.

"I warned you," he taunted. "But you didn't listen. You never listen."

"What are you talking about?" Bree croaked out.

He turned his horrible yellow-green gaze on her. "Did you ever think about how _I_ felt? Ever? When I tried to tell you, would you listen? No."

Across the room, Chase shook his head. "I don't understand, Leo. You should have snapped out of it by now—you're hurting us! If you were strong, you would have broken free already! Why are you doing this?"

" _I_ hurt _you_?" Leo repeated, turning and focusing on Chase, who shrank back. " _I_ hurt _you_?" He began to laugh manically. "Oh, no. _You_ hurt _me_. All these years, did you ever care about what was happening to me? I was always there for you. I helped you. I covered for you whenever you needed me to. I was your _friend_. Then the Academy began, and I was tossed aside. You practically forgot all about me! I was treated as an inferior, simply because I didn't have as much power as you. You say I'm not strong, Chase. Maybe I am, I just don't want to waste strength on something so ridiculous! You didn't care about me, you never have. You were never really there for me. I hate you, I hate _all_ of you! You make me _sick_. You would use your own brother for your benefit, only to forget all about him once you have more kids who you're more similar to." He turned his eyes to Adam. "What was it you said when Daniel came that time? I was 'old news'?" He made air quotes with his fingers before chuckling. "Oh, no. I doubt anyone will call me 'old news' for a long, _long_ time."

 _Do you really feel like that, Leo? I'm sorry, so sorry, I didn't know. Please, forgive me. You're my brother, I didn't mean for this to happen…_

Bree finally found her voice, but what came out wasn't what she intended. "How would people call you _anything_ if they're all blown up by Gao's missile?"

Leo turned back to her. "Blown up? Oh, that. No, that won't blow up the planet. It will simply put all the humans under Gao's control. The human race will become extinct, replaced with the more powerful superhumans, like me. Trust me, it's worth it. You'll see." He grinned. "Or not, considering I have to kill you."

"You don't have to, Leo," she said. "You don't. I'm sorry, really, I didn't know…"

He snorted, the yellow-green glow of his eyes brightening. "Didn't know what? That you were making my life miserable, that you never appreciated me? Because I think you did. You made your attitude _very_ well known on multiple occasions."

Adam seemed at a loss for words. "But we never meant for _this_ to happen…"

"Well, too late!" Leo snarled. "You're going to pay for what you've done!" He raised his hand, palm glowing with a fiercely bright light, the smell of pure energy—a smell similar to ozone, even—spreading through the room, a buzzing noise reaching their ears.

At that moment, Chase yelled, "Watch out!" before lunging forward _towards_ Leo. "Perry, get help!" Perry dodged out of the room, Adam stepped back, and Bree…

Bree screamed, "Chase, stop!" _You're going to make things worse!_

Leo made a fist, and Chase froze mid-step, just as Adam had earlier.

"Let me go!" Chase shouted, straining against the invisible restraints. "Let me go _right now_!"

Leo chuckled. "Okay." He flicked a finger in Chase's direction, and Chase toppled backward, rolling into the wall. He sprang right back up, though he looked a bit dazed.

"Leo, stop! Please," Bree cried. "You're going to hurt us!"

"That's the idea, genius," Leo replied icily.

"Well, technically, _I'm_ the genius—"

"Shut it, Chase!" All three of the other teens shouted.

Chase looked hurt, but sulked back over to Bree, standing next to her. "So Leo, old friend, you're going to destroy us all?"

"I'm not you're friend," Leo snapped. "And yeah, of course I'm going to destroy you." He raised his hands again, and white light began to gather in his palms.

"You're going to regret this," Bree told him, hesitant to move. But as she spoke, she felt a plan formulating in her mind.

"I'm a superhuman designed by Gao. I don't feel regret." Leo drew his elbows back and then thrust out his hands. His eyes flashed, glowing brighter than ever. Blinding white light barreled at them. And Bree threw herself into action.

Lightning quick, she grabbed Chase's arm, pushed him out of the way, and then ran at Adam. She crashed into him, full speed, knocking him to the ground and out of the way of the blast. She almost joined her older brother on the floor, but she managed to catch herself. Instead, she crossed the room and snatched a blaster off the wall.

"Leo, stop," she demanded, pointing it at him. "I don't want to do this, but I will if I have to."

Leo put his hands up in the 'I surrender' position. "You just proved my point, you know."

Bree sent him a puzzled glance, and Adam and Chase simultaneously said, "huh?"

Leo shook his head. "If you actually ever cared for me, you wouldn't be pointing that thing at me. If you ever were my friend, you wouldn't be doing this."

And despite the fact that Bree knew that _he_ was trying to hurt _them_ , she couldn't help but hesitate. She remembered what she and Adam had spoken about—how Leo would have wanted them to fight back. But she just… couldn't. He was being controlled, it wasn't his fault! He wasn't voluntarily doing _any_ of those awful things. And there she was, _choosing_ to point a weapon at him. She looked directly at him—right into his eyes—and, just for a moment, saw the agony in them, the pleading look. Her brother was still in there, fighting for control. She just knew it. She _couldn't_ shoot him. She faltered, and the tip of her weapon dipped towards the floor.

A sly smile darted across Leo's face. "Mistake." He brought his hands together, and an unseen force blew throughout the room. The weapons tumbled to the floor, the table in the corner cracked in half, and the three siblings were thrown arounds like leaves in a tornado.

Bree hit the wall yet again, collapsing to the floor. She laid there, dazed, vision slightly blurry.

"We can't beat him!" Chase called out weakly, sounding equally disoriented. "Not if we don't want to hurt him!"

"And we don't," Adam reminded him. "But we might have to. Leo would want us to."

Leo laughed. "I can hear every word you're saying, you know. And I think you have worse things to think about."

"What could be worse than dying knowing your brother killed you?" Bree grumbled, trying to at least make him feel a _little_ bad about what he was going to do.

Leo shrugged nonchalantly, checking his watch. "Dying knowing you brother killed you _and_ that the entire human race will be under Gao's control in, oh, half an hour."

"What?" Bree cried, clambering to her feet.

"Yep," Leo said. "Now… am I _finally_ going to get to kill you?"

Bree closed her eyes—so, she wasn't accepting her fate, she was trying to think her way out of it. _I have an idea—a_ good _one this time._ "No."

"What?"

"No, you're not going to kill us now," Bree finished. Without waiting another second, she activated her speed, grabbed her brothers' arms, and sped from the room.

* * *

Leo was trapped. He was trapped in his own head. And he simply went about his business as Gao told him to. Yet on another level, he struggled with all his might to free himself.

Everything was awash in yellow-green light, and it all seemed off-kilter, confusing. And the weirdest thing? He was doing things he normally _never_ would have done, and it _felt_ like he was doing it voluntarily. Grudgingly, perhaps, but he was still doing it. Oddly enough, the closest thing he could compare it to was being grounded as a child. You were forced to go to your room, and you did it just because your parent told you to, voluntarily but not liking it. This was strangely similar.

 _Gao told me what to do, and I guess I have to do it._

The rational part of him that _was_ still there, just buried underneath the mind control serum, screamed at him to stop. _This isn't right! Stop!_

He ignored it.

He suddenly felt a tingling feeling spread up his arm where Gao had injected him, and then an image of the weapons room they'd been shown earlier popped into his head. He abruptly turned on his heel and headed down another corner—heading to that weapons room. _That's where Bree must have gone._

And then there rational part of him yelled: _That serum is controlling you, taking hold of your thoughts! It's using your own mind and memories against you!_

He mentally gagged the voice and stuffed it in a closet. _Shut up, me._

As he walked, he brought his fingers together, white light gathering. _I'm going to need it._ He turned one last corner and came to the door. He pulled on the handle—locked, as expected. He rapped evenly on the door with his not-glowing hand and demanded to be let in. They refused, also as expected.

It didn't matter. He gathered the energy building in his hands and flung it at the door, which shattered to pieces. He strode inside, gleefully noting that not only were the three bionic superhumans there, but also the ex-principal. _Excellent. Another one to take._

He taunted them: "I warned you. But you didn't listen. You never listen."

But then Bree said something that made his blood boil: "What are you talking about?"

That tipped him over the edge. Didn't they understand? That he felt excluded, inferior? No, of course they didn't. They didn't care. So he screamed, he let all of his pent-up emotions out.

The worst part? The part of Leo that actually remained _Leo_ found that what he was saying didn't come from nowhere. He really _did_ feel like that sometimes. He just never realized—so of _course_ his siblings had never noticed; he never had himself! But he couldn't stop. What he was saying… he meant it. He found that he hated that part of himself.

And why weren't they attacking him? He was saying and doing horrible things, and they had a world to save—why weren't they doing what they should have been? They were doing the exact _opposite_ of what he wanted.

The superhuman part of him, the controlled part, was out for blood. He fired blast after blast, determined to kill. His eyes glowed brighter and brighter, and his expression more twisted and gleeful in the most sick and horrible way.

But his subconscious wouldn't stop. _Please, just hurry. Just kill me, get it over with, stop Gao. Please._ As he turned his eyes on each of his siblings in turn, he tried to relay the message even though he couldn't speak. He knew it wouldn't work—he knew the second Bree flinched back and averted her gaze when he looked at her.

The despair washed over him. They were wasting time! The whole human race was going to be put under Gao's control, all because his siblings were afraid to hurt him. _Please._

As though she had heard, Bree suddenly was pointing a blaster at him. _Yes! Come on, hurry up, you have to go!_

But his body wouldn't listen. His mouth moved, spitting out lies and persuasive words. Bree's eyes locked onto his.

 _Please, Bree._

It seemed she saw the pleading look in his eyes. He hoped she understood. _Come on, do what you have to do!_ And then she faltered. Her gun was no longer aimed at him.

 _She misinterpreted it._

And then that serum washed over him with twice the intensity, and that part of him that remained Leo was diminished even more. The despair doubled. _It's all over._

* * *

"Chase, how many minutes do we have?" Bree demanded as they skidded into their quarters.

Chase rushed over to the cyberdesk in the corner and began to type. He suddenly froze, his eyes widening. "Fifteen minutes."

"That's not enough time!" Adam cried.

Chase shook his head. "You're right, it's not. Unless…" he trailed off, his typing slowing.

"What, Chase?" Bree asked. "Unless what?"

He bit his lip and looked up at her. "Mr. Davenport has a sort of new version of the exoskeleton. It resists the pulls of space and stuff. There's a little pod right over there that goes right out into space. If someone gets in the exoskeleton and out into space, they can fly back to Earth and smash into the missile. The only thing is…"

"Let me guess," Bree interrupted him. "It's deadly. Whoever does it will probably die."

Chase nodded mutely.

"Well then who's going to do it?" she asked.

"I don't know," Chase admitted.

"What do you mean, 'you don't know'?" she yelled. "It's heading straight toward Earth and we can't stop it!"

"I'll do it."

Both Bree and Chase looked at their brother. "What?" they asked simultaneously.

"I said that I'll do it," Adam repeated.

"Adam—"

"No, Chase," Adam cut him off. "You were right; I need to grow up. I have to do this."

"Adam, please—"

"No," Adam said firmly. "I'm doing it and there's nothing you can do to stop me. Chase, you _have_ to let me do this. You were the one who said I had to grow up."

Bree had never seen Chase's eyes so dark and sad. "But I never wanted _this_ to happen."

"It's okay, Chase," Adam said. "Where's the suit?"

Chase silently pushed a button, and a panel in the floor opened up. What Bree assumed was the suit ascended from below their feet.

Seeing the exoskeleton, Adam cracked a smile. "Well, if I go out, at least I'll go out looking like Iron Man."

Bree had to chuckle sadly at that. _One last bit of the old Adam._ "Adam… are you sure you want to do this?"

He looked at her. "I'm sure, Bree. And… if I don't come back…" he took a breath. "You know what, let's not say that. I _will_ come back. I promise."

 _Don't make promises you can't keep._ But she just nodded as he stepped into the exo. "Okay."

"Good luck, Adam," Chase said. "Go through that door right there and press the red button marked 'open door'. We'll be with you all the way. If you need to talk, use the com link." He passed out the comms.

Bree attached it to her ear and checked her watch. "Okay, Adam. You have ten minutes. Make them count."

He gave her a determined smile. "I will." He stepped through the door. The two younger siblings watched as his silhouette pushed a button and then drop out into space.

* * *

"He's not going to make it," Chase realized.

Bree frowned. "What?"

Chase shook his head. "He's going too slow. He's not going to get there in time. At this rate, he's going to enter Earth's atmosphere and burn up before he can get to the missile!"

Chase watched as Bree clicked on her com link. "Adam! You need to hurry!"

Chase was too distracted to focus on Adam's reply—he was too busy looking at the doorway in terror. "Bree?"

She ignored him, still talking to Adam.

"Bree, _turn around_."

The intensity of his voice seemed to get her attention, and she did indeed turn.

"You guys _really_ need to know when to stop running," Leo said.

* * *

Leo—the _real_ Leo—hated it. Hated all of it. Hated what he was being made to do, hated the power granted to him, hated Gao, hated himself for being weak. But he couldn't bring himself to fight anymore. He was exhausted, he'd tired himself out. The poison was too strong. Besides, if he continued to fight, his siblings would hold out hope. The rest was up to his siblings.

 _Please._

* * *

"What do we do?" Bree breathed out, clutching Chase's arm.

Chase knew he looked dazed, like he wasn't fully in the present. Like he was thinking back to the past. That was because he was. "Talk him out of it."

"What?"

"When I was under the Triton app, Leo talked me out of it. Now I need to return the favor. Stay on the comms and monitor Adam," Chase ordered before hesitantly stepping forward.

Leo's hands were immediately up, palms facing out. His eyes flashed dangerously, but his face showed an expression Chase wasn't sure he liked. "Not another step." His voice was bland, almost like…

 _Leo stopped fighting. But why?_ The answer came to him in less than a second. _He wants us to destroy him. He's sacrificing himself. He wants us to go save the world, no matter the cost—even if the cost is his life._

That one realization almost broke Chase. "Leo…"

"Not another step."

"No, Leo, please! Listen to me!" He took another step forward, more confident this time. "You have to listen to me. I'm sorry I never listened to _you_ , but I promise, you matter. You're _not_ useless. You're my— _our_ brother, we care about you. I'm sorry you didn't think we did."

Leo's face didn't change, but Chase thought—more like hoped—that the glow in his eyes seemed a little dimmer.

"Leo, please," Chase begged. "Come back to us. You're in there, I know you are! You're my brother, come on! Leo, fight against the serum. You can do it, you're _strong_ , Leo! I wasn't being truthful earlier. You're stronger than I ever could be. Please."

Leo seemed to freeze, seemed to get stuck in place, but Chase sensed that the calm was only temporary. He was completely right.

"Chase!" Bree called, shattering the silence. Miraculously, Leo didn't move, just continued to stand there. Chase gave his brother one last glance before backing towards his sister.

"What, Bree?"

"Adam… he's too late. He's entering Earth's atmosphere. He's… literally burning up," she reported.

Chase immediately clicked his com link on. "Adam, stop! Come back _now_!"

 _"_ _No, Chase! This is my duty. I have to do this!"_ Adam insisted.

He turned to Bree. "It's too much for him!"

Her expression was almost worse than the fact that their brother was hurtling towards his doom, that their other brother was standing behind them, mind-controlled and still. "Make him stop, _please_!"

They heard a scream through their earpieces. "Adam!"

The line went dead, and static hit their ears.

"Adam!" Chase yelled. "Answer me! Answer me!" Bree put a hand on his shoulder, trying to calm him down, but he wouldn't—couldn't—stop. "Answer me!"

"Chase." But it wasn't Bree who spoke. The voice was _Leo's_. Their stepbrother was standing there, right behind them, but his presence no longer felt… threatening. That's when Chase realized: Leo's eyes were no longer glowing.

"Leo, you're… free," Bree whispered.

Leo turned his gaze on her. "I… think so. You guys… you guys saved me. And I can help Adam, I can check to see if the missile is disabled. I know what to do."

* * *

Okay, so that was a lie. Leo didn't think he was free at all. He was free from the _mind control_ , but something had happened to him, he could feel it. He knew it as a fact. He would never be free of the remnants of the poison. But it was okay. He would push it aside for now, and he would save his brother and hopefully fully disable the rocket (yes, he had lied about that, too, he knew the rocket was only half-disabled).

Gao had left his damage, but Leo knew. The serum had given him knowledge, knowledge of Gao's plan. He knew the answer to Chase's earlier question—he knew who Gao _really_ was. He knew how to shut down everything Gao had ever built. he knew how to release everyone he'd used the Triton app on. And Leo would use that knowledge to his best advantage.

He knew how he had managed to free himself. It was because his siblings believed in him, as cheesy as it sounded. _That_ was the antidote for his poison. Their belief in him. They cared about him, they wouldn't and couldn't kill him—and they needed him. All those years ago, he had helped free Chase from his own mind. Chase just had returned the favor. They needed him to save the oldest brother. So he had struggled through, for them.

But he couldn't tell them anything he'd learned about. Couldn't tell them who Gao was, couldn't tell them how to shut everything down. He couldn't because doing that could mess everything up, stir up even more trouble. His siblings couldn't know—they weren't _ready_ to find out.

And there was one thing he didn't know: what the lasting effects of Gao's poison were. But time would tell, he thought. He would find out soon enough. And although he wasn't particularly looking forward to it, he knew all he would need was time to heal. It would all be fine.

So as he took over the cyberdesk, he gave his siblings reassuring glances.

"It'll be alright."

He also knew he wasn't lying.

* * *

(He keeps his secret.

He carries it with him as if it will destroy him if he lets it go—it probably will.

He carries it as he disables the missile.

He carries it as Bree and Chase are forced to go out onto the surface of Lithios to save their oldest brother, and he stays behind to monitor them.

He carries it as he frees his father from the Triton app.

He carries it as he Gao manages to escape, leaving yet another threat looming over them all.

He carries it as they go home.

He won't tell them yet, for reasons he can't explain. But when Gao comes back—and Leo _knows_ he will—the truth will come out. Leo _will_ tell.

Because the knowledge he has gained? It's the key to everything.)

* * *

 **So… I just** ** _couldn't_** **predict the total, complete end. I tried, but I couldn't. And I tried not to leave it so open-ended, but that's what happens when you're speculating for something and you have absolutely** ** _no idea_** **what's going to happen. This is the best I could get. Just imagine that everything turns out like Lab Rats always does, I guess.**

 **Anyway, thank you all for your reviews, favorites, and follows, it means a lot. And as always, reviews for this chapter are welcome! I'd love to know what you thought of this chapter. I'm glad so many people enjoyed this story!**

 **~EmeraldTulip**


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